Be sure to include your name, daytime phone number, address, name and phone number of legal next-of-kin, method of payment, and the name of the funeral home/crematory to contact for verification of death.

The ball was in right field, not left, but the timing was very similar: Alex Gordon was arriving at third base as the cutoff man was fielding the ball and — just like the World Series — third base coach Mike Jirschele had a decision to make.

If you’re a Royals fan you probably saw Mike Moustakas lose a number of hits last season when he pulled a baseball to the right side of the field, directly into an overloaded infield shift. This season Royals fans may see something different.

Some spring observations: Rusty Kuntz imparted his wisdom on Mitch Maier, like how to turn on a generator. Also, why part of the batter’s box disappears during games and a lesson a TV reporter learned on the difficulty of hitting a baseball.

Everyone back home sees those nice pictures of ballplayers frolicking in the sun and thinks covering spring training is a blast—and it does beat shoveling snow off your driveway—but it’s not nearly as fun as people think it is.

Baseball players have been shifting position since the game was invented, but for now let’s talk about those dramatic infield shifts that have three infielders stationed between first and second base when there’s a left-handed pull hitter at the plate.

I was recently asked about a preseason prediction that had the Royals winning 79 games and finishing third in the American League Central in 2015. I said that before I took anyone’s 2015 predictions seriously, I’d like to know what they predicted for 2014. We often hear experts predict the future, but rarely ask how accurate their predictions have been in the past — so I went back and looked.

Teams know things about ballplayers that fans and those of us in the media don’t. They don’t always guess right, but teams have all the information we have and more. So what don’t we know about a catcher’s defense and its worth?

In 1981 the average time of a nine-inning big league baseball game was two hours and 33 minutes. In 2014 the average time was three hours and two minutes and that’s a problem; to many fans, ballgames seem slow and boring. MLB and the players’ association recently reached an agreement to speed up the game.

Having a shutdown reliever — Kelvin Herrera — to throw the seventh inning made the starting pitcher’s job easier for the Royals last season; get through six innings with a lead and they could hand the ball to Herrera. And getting Luke Hochevar back can make the job even easier in 2015.

If Yordano Ventura gets the opening day start, it’s an indication that the Royals think he’s confident, able to handle adversity and ready to be a team leader. If the Royals give the opening day start to one of their veterans, it might mean the Royals think Ventura needs to build his confidence and have more success at the big-league level before stepping into that role.

On October 29 of 2014 Alex Gordon stepped to the plate with game seven of the World Series on the line. He lined a pitch into left-center field. Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco misplayed the ball and Gordon wound up on third base. Nearly three months after the play, it is still worth debating: Should Gordon have tried to score?

In 2013 Royals pitcher Wade Davis was 8-11 and had an ERA of 5.32; in 2014 Davis was 9-2 with an ERA of 1.00. He had a great season and Davis just received the Royals’ Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year award—so what changed?

At the time the trade was made, a lot of people criticized Royals general manager Dayton Moore, but now that the Royals have won an American League championship, made it to game seven of the World Series and another team has decided it can live without Myers, people are revising their opinions.